Bottle share (thanks Donnie!) Pours amber color, a little cloudy. Aroma is very oak-y, with a strong alcohol smell. The taste is fairly hoppy and the oak comes through quite a bit in the taste. Good level of carbonation, smooth dry finish. Not bad, although not quite as mellow as I would have thought. Solid beer.

The aroma is really sweet with a hint of wood. Almost peachy. The appearance is murky and carbonated. The taste starts off sweet then rolls into the wooden flavor that finishes sour. The palate is different. Overall, an interesting beer, that I would buy fo sho.

Bottle from Kasey!. Pours red. Nutty rich and caramel malts in the nose along with some sticky orange and resinous like hops with some spicy citrus and floral notes. Flavor is again oranges, floral, grass, spicy hops, with rich malty flavors and noticeable oak barrel and just a hint of vanilla. Full body and a completely dry finish. Nice twist on a west coast red. Enjoyed.

Tap at Sugar Maple. Pours to a red body with a thin tan head. Aromas and flavors seemed to be your typical imperial red ale type. Malts mainly. I didn’t get the complexity of herbs or vanilla or oak. Mostly just a hoppy amber ale. The palate was medium bodied. The alcohol was more apparent than I’d had hoped.

Bottle shared by drabmuh. Thanks Matt!
A: The beer appears brown / amber in color with a huge head that leaves tons of lace, even after a moderately slow pour. Over-carbonation perhaps?
S: The aroma is of hops, pine, and a slightly sweet malt.
T: A good tasting beer, with a few different interesting flavors taking place. The taste profile consists of hops and pine, with notes of oak and fruits. Overall, a nice, enjoyable red ale.
M: Highly carbonated, with a medium-thin body.
D: Tasty beer. I’d drink this again.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 12-20-2010

Bottle sample at Sour&Bitter May 2012. Beer in the glass looks good, copper coloured. Hoppy-soapy aroma. Starts mild, dry, almost a bit washy. More and more dry and hoppy. Bitter background. Finish with some grasy notes. Quite balanced. Not bad!

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